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Hamburger Steak in Hawaii

by Amy Sherman

on 03/14/12 at 09:00 AM

If you think about it, many iconic dishes from Hawaii such as spam musubi, loco moco, beef stew, Portuguese bean soup, and chicken long rice are all examples of "cucina povera." Nothing fancy, they rely on some of the least expensive ingredients, and meat is always stretched with starchy ingredients like rice, beans or noodles. Many of the dishes also have roots in Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine.

Japanese-style "hamburger steak" is a popular dish in Hawaii. It's basically a kind of meatloaf, made into a burger. It's generally covered with gravy and served with rice, add an egg and you have loco moco. Just as there is no one recipe for the hamburger steak, there is no one gravy either. It can be served with brown gravy, mushroom gravy, but also terikyaki sauce, curry sauce, tonkatsu sauce, or even ketchup. Hamburger steak is a Japanese version of Western food, a style of cuisine known as Yoshoku.

Many places around Oahu serve hamburger steak, including a particularly juicy one served at He'eia Pier. The restaurant is really just a take-out window with picnic tables and a stunning view of the water. But looks can be deceiving. Chef Mark Noguchi may be serving simple food, but it's anything but run of the mill. The beef is from Kuahiwi Ranch on the Big Island. The fish is always local. The greens come from Ma'o organic farms. Tomatoes are from WOW Farms. Macaroni salad gets a boost from diced locally grown taro.

Want to make hamburger steak at home? Noguchi says fat is the key (so don't go too lean on the beef) and that adding mayonniase to the ground beef is a Japanese cooking trick. It renders out when the burger cooks, but provides an incredible amount of moisture. Recipe after the jump....

This hamburger steak recipe is adapted from the recipe from Mark Noguchi of He'eia Pier.

Gently but thoroughly combine the ingredients. Form 4 patties making a slight indentation in each. Pan fry or broil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook through, about 8 to 10 minutes depending on the size of your burger. Hamburger steaks should be juicy, but well done, like meatloaf. Serve with gravy of your choice. Serves 4.